Carbon footprint refers to the amount of carbon that is emitted by any equipment or machinery that uses energy. It is the total amount of greenhouse gases that is given off by a given household or organization. Motor vehicles are one of the contributors of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and knowing how much a car contributes can help individuals become more environmentally conscious.

It is easy to calculate a car’s carbon emission online. This can be done by selecting the make or model of the car and the number of miles the car has covered. Some websites will include the frequency of using the car as a factor to calculate the amount of carbon it produces every day.

A low carbon footprint for a car is 100g per kilometer, while a very high carbon emission for a vehicle is 200g per kilometer. The calculation considers the amount of carbon emission per year, such that if a car makes about 10,000 miles in a year at a carbon emission of 160g per kilometer which is a high polluting vehicle, the amount of carbon dioxide produced in the year would be 2.6 tons, which is massive.

It has been proved that in the United States, carbon dioxide emissions come mainly from automobiles such as vans, jeeps, pickup trucks and other cars. It has also been confirmed that vehicles with the lowest mileage per tank are the highest carbon dioxide emitters. This is because they will require more gas than regular and low emission vehicles, which means that the carbon dioxide that they produce is much higher than regular vehicles.

Considering that the US is one of the highest fuel consumers with up to 20 million barrels of oil per day as of the year 2000, the emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of the oil is a cause for concern. There have been many initiatives undertaken to educate individuals on how to cut down the CO₂ emissions by using their vehicles less and less.

One highly publicized means of cutting down the pollution is by purchasing hybrid vehicles. These types of cars have low carbon emissions, some running on other sources of energy apart from gas. This is a good method of showing responsibility for the environment, but the main problem is that the hybrid cars are out of purchasing reach for a majority of people.

Another option is to use public transportation rather than driving. This method would not only decrease the carbon dioxide emissions but would also create more jobs for bus and train operators, as well as clear up the roads from traffic snarl-ups which only go to create more greenhouse gases that are harmful to the atmosphere.

Fuel efficiency can be increased significantly if car owners would service their vehicles often enough. Keeping the engine of your vehicle in excellent running shape will give you more mileage from a tank of gas, causing drivers to spend much less on fuel and give off less carbon dioxide.

Drive-through services should also be avoided because it translates to excessive burning of fuel while waiting in line for service. It would conserve gas uses if individuals chose to walk to restaurants and fast food joints locally and planning their eating habits well so that they do not get hungry at odd hours.

We are living in a world that is dynamic and pushing forward various developments at the expense of our surroundings. In the short while the environment doesn’t seem to mater but in the long run it is us that bear the brunt of our actions to the environment. Some environmental concerns are however not man made but naturally occurring phenomenon. All in all, we need to be on the lookout for those toxic substances in our environment that pose a risk on our health and well being.

The first category of toxic substances that have raised health concerns are gases. Our environment is increasingly being polluted by gaseous emissions from machinery, automobiles, factories, forest fires and also emissions from the ground through fissures as is common in regions with volcanic activity. Environmental Protection Agency EPA lists the main categories of gaseous toxicants of concern to our health.

People who live in urban areas are more prone to toxic gases in the environment than those living in areas with high vegetation cover. This is because urban areas are concentrated with sources of gaseous emissions and also because vegetation has an effect of absorption of pollutant gases leaving the air with lesser concentrations of the toxicants.

Among common gaseous toxicants are dust, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, organic vapors and particulate matter. These exert harm to the body through the route of inhalation and depending on the level and duration of exposure; they produce chronic, severe and fatal effects. To get around them, install air cleansing equipment in your living quarters or wear protective gear in work environments.

The second category of environmental health concerns is water. Water is a commodity we have to use every day and we normally source it from our surroundings. However there are many concerns on the safety of water for our use and this has to do with all agents and forms of water pollution.

Common water pollutants are effluent from factories that load water sources with harmful chemicals, sewerage, solid matter and even microorganisms. The net effect is that these pollutants may eventually get their way into our bodies where they produce adverse effects or even death. Poisoning through water is often through drinking and contact with the skin.

Radiations pose a major risk to health and results from contact with radioactive material of processes in the environment. Workers in environments with radiations such as laboratories need to use protective clothing and measures at all times. Radioactive waste should be disposed away from people.

Natural phenomenon that puts human health and life at risk is another concern in the environment. The effective way is to prevent human settlement in areas prone to such occurrences and to initiate rescue if it occurs unexpectedly in a human settlement. These occurrences include earthquakes, volcanic activity, tsunamis, hurricanes and tornados.

There are many other factors of concern in the environment including noise pollution, microorganisms, and heavy metals and so on. A comprehensive mention of each of these concerns and the health effects they cause is given at Tox Town Website.

Recycling is the act of processing used materials to make new products for various reasons. Recycling guards against losing materials that are potentially useful, and also reduces the need for using fresh raw materials in manufacturing products. It reduces air pollution since it prevents incineration and in turn the harmful gases associated with it. Recycling also prevents water pollution from making landfills. In the waste hierarchy, recycling is the third component, preceded by ‘Reduce’ and ‘Reuse’.

There are several types of recyclable materials, such as paper, glass, metal, plastic, textiles and electronics. These materials are used on a daily basis in households and offices, and they require responsible management lest they become problematic to handle.

Recycling occurs in two steps, the first being collecting the waste items, the second being sorting. Collection of waste items is usually organized in different systems which are drop off centers, curbside collection and buy back centers.

Drop off centers refer to designated areas in a neighborhood or region where individuals can take their recyclable items for sorting. These are then transported to a larger waste recycling plant for processing. Curbside collection refers to individuals subscribing for garbage collection services where their waste items are picked from their neighborhood once or twice a week. Buy back centers clean up all reusable items such as containers and bottles and put them up for sale at a lower price to create a motivation for people to reuse the items.

Sorting of the collected waste materials involves separating the wastes according to the materials they are made out of. Cardboard pieces, glass items, metal cans and newspapers go into separate collection piles waiting for further processing. Some materials will be cleaned, others melted while even others simply compressed together to make other products.

There are several advantages of recycling over disposing the wastes through composting and burning. First, it saves costs when an item is reused instead of purchasing a new item. Reused items if purchased from buy back centers are cheaper than buying the original item. Recycling also creates employment opportunities for recycling and processing companies, which is an advantage to the general economy. By recycling, the environment is made cleaner and more conducive for living, and continuous recycling can maintain it so.

Some practical steps that individuals can take to enhance recycling processes include choosing wisely when it comes to purchasing items because the more items one has in their possession, the more the waste they will produce. Also, individuals should learn to avoid buying items that they can rent or borrow such as books and electronic items that are still in working condition. Switching to email rather than using paper communication also saves on waste papers, as well as choosing to read newspapers and magazines online.

All these steps are simple, straightforward means of creating healthier surroundings and decreasing the consumption of limited resources on planet Earth. More information about recycling can be found online. The Environmental Protection Agency website contains an interactive means of understanding the need for recycling and how it works.

Greenhouse gases are those gases that soak up and give off radiation in the atmosphere, leading to the greenhouse effect, which simply means heating. The main gases involved in creating the greenhouse effect on our planet are carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane, water vapor, ozone, nitrous oxide and CFCs, that is, chlorofluorocarbons. These gases are emitted on a regular basis by human beings, which cause more and more global warming. Having a personal greenhouse gas emissions calculator is one step that can be taken to reduce the emissions every day.

Also referred to as a Household Emissions Calculator or Climate Change Calculator, the Personal Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator helps an individual to understand how their consumption of fuel and other energy sources contribute to global warming and provide ideas on how to cut down their emissions.

The calculator is available online from such websites as the EPA and NASA websites . The calculator enables the user to estimate the current level of emissions in their household, to find out what the person can do about it if their emissions are high, and to give a monetary value to saving on greenhouse gas emissions. The calculator shows how much money one can save by cutting down on how much they use on their energy needs.

The Personal Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator takes about 10 to 15 minutes to fill in. One may need to collect their recent bills for gas and electricity in order to receive the most accurate results from the calculator. There is also an allowance for more specific details about the home, such as the exact square kilometers it occupies. Having more details reveals a more accurate calculation of greenhouse emissions in the home.

The main aspects that the calculator incorporates are the number of people living in a particular household; modes of heating in the home such as electricity or gas; transportation, meaning the number of vehicles currently owned by the residents of the home as well as the mileage on each one; and waste and recycling. Assumptions made by the makers of the greenhouse gas emissions calculator are based on national and international statistics on energy consumptions and global warming.

Emissions from air travel are not included since the calculator is mainly focused on the household. For individuals who are frequent flyers, the emissions calculations should include the amount of fuel they spend on ground transportation such as fuelling the car to get to the airport. Air travel emissions will be included in the calculator in the future because aircraft consumption is calculated differently from the household consumptions.

Several suggestions are offered at the end of taking the personal greenhouse gas emissions calculator that can be done in the home, in the office and on the road. They include switching to energy saving light bulbs, cleaning air filters to decrease the energy spent in heating and cooling the household, insulating the attic and the basement of the house, and the three Rs of handling waste: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

The reminder to spread the word about the personal greenhouse gas emissions calculator should not be taken for granted because the more the people who know about changing their lifestyles to fight against global warming, the greater the change that can be made in the environment.

The Environmental Protection Agency Center for High School Students is an initiative that encourages all high school students in the United States to learn about the environment and actively participate in taking care of their surroundings. It is a resource center for students who are interested in protecting their environment.

The main areas of concern that the Center is involved in are air pollution and global warming, waste and recycling, water, conservation of energy, soil, water and endangered species, ecosystems, health and safety, and neighborhood and community issues.

These skills are taught not only in the classroom but also practically as well as online. One can obtain lesson plans from Kindergarten level to 12^th Grade. Among the subject titles are “Chika Chika Boom Boom” for kindergarten children, “America, A Home for Every Culture” for 2^nd Grade, “Harriet Tubman Integrated Unit” for 4^th Grade Music class, and “Tools” for Kindergarten, 3^rd and 7^th Grades.

The EPA Environmental Center also provides funding for high school projects, giving in August 2009 eight grants worth $190,000 for environmental educational projects to be done in Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. The grants are awarded annually to high school institutions that develop the best proposal for environmental projects.

The Center also has a blog where students contribute their opinions and articles about the environment. The blog entitled “Greenversations” provides personalized perspectives from actual students and coordinators of environmental programs. Categories such as Earth Day, Government and “On the Green Road” show the diverse viewpoints of the active members of the program.

The EPA provides opportunities for student employment as well through their summer programs at their headquarters in Washington D.C. and in other locations across the USA. There are also employment opportunities for graduates who have been active members of the EPA Environmental Center for High School Students throughout their high school education, as well as internship opportunities.

The Center encourages students to engage in community service activities such as protecting watersheds, conservation practices, and making the environment a cleaner and healthier place to live.

The greatest opportunity provided to students through the EPA is competitions and awards. Students are encouraged to join as many competitions as they can to supplement their knowledge of the environment through trivia and multiple choice competitions. The President’s Environmental Youth Award, Teens for Planet Earth, Young Eco-Hero Award, among many others, are all chances that students can seize to make them more environmentally savvy.

Worth special mention is the EPA’s Environmental Kids Club which is a part of the Center. It is created for Kindergarten children and Middle School students to learn about the environment at an early age. This usually acts as a stepping stone for students to join the Environmental Center for High School Students later in their education.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has gone out of its way to involve all people in the fight against climate change, from children to the elderly. Its involvement in the environmental policy in the US is felt through the activities and opportunities that the Agency provides for high school students to teach environmental conservation habits that will be carried on to the future, hence reversing the effects of climate change, one student at a time.